Month: December 2011

The peace and quiet of a Sunday morning was shattered on the dot of 7 as my alerter threw a wobbly and I threw myself out of the front door.

The speed I left meant I hadn't really assessed the weather and as soon as my feet hit the path I did a very credible impression of Torvill & Dean doing the Bolero! Boy, was it icy!

My first thought was that we must be off to an RTC but the tip sheet showed we were off to a flat fire barely half a mile from the station.

As we turned into Northgate we could see a plume of smoke rising in the distance even though it was only just starting to get light. As we pulled up in Bramble Green there were flames already issuing from the bedroom of the first floor flat.

A BA team from Ladder 1 of Lowestoft South entered via the front door and made their way up to the flat. Prior to them making an entry into the bedroom the 45mm covering jet was used to knock the flames back.

Having run out a 70mm length from our pump to Ladder 1 so they had plenty of water I then moved on to run the BA board. Our BA team (John Hubbard and Jason Balls) were committed to the flat, continuing to search the property and also to ventilate.

And, as usual, the hive of activity comes to an abrupt halt and it was a case of making up all the gear ready for the off.

A quick trip up to Lowestoft South to recharge our cylinders before a Fire Priority to a single vehicle RTC out near ParK hill, Oulton. All this before 9:30!

I really have an exciting social life you know! Friday night, it's just gone half eight and all I can manage is a fitful doze on my bed. It doesn't get any more 'on the edge' than that.

And after 10 days without a shout it certainly didn't seem that the Fire Service were going to 'treat' me to a night out either.

How wrong you can be…

Bang on 20:40 and my little black number (that's my alerter not some a party frock!) goes into overdrive and sends me from prone to front door in seconds.

By the time I've jogged across to the fire station the cold night air has just about woken me up. Tally up in the drivers position and then off to get the tip sheet and see where we're off to.
All I could glean from the tip sheet was that we were being sent to a house in Lound, opposite The Village Maid pub. Well I wouldn't be needing directions for that then, having enjoyed countless meals in the pub I knew exactly where to go…

So, with a crew of six, we headed towards the A12 and Jay Lane, by far the quickest route to Lound when you're trying to get 14 tonnes of fire engine there in a hurry. As we turned into Jay Lane and started to accelerate down the long straight, the ominous glow of a well developed fire could be seen in the distance.

Dennis confirmed out loud what we already knew – "She's a goer!"

We had by now heard radio traffic that this was a Make Pumps 4 job and we were being assisted by pumps from Norfolk – the incident was just a couple of hundred metres from the border.

And as we turned into Lound an Assistance Message went in for Make Pumps 6 and aerial appliance required,

I pulled up right outside The Village Maid, behind Ladder 1 from Lowestoft South and with two Norfolk pumps ahead of them. It was quickly decided that we should act as base pump and take water directly from the pond, pumping it to the Yarmouth pump for them to deliver through three lines of hose.

The hard suction was off, connected, submerged in the pond and into the eye of the pump and we were ready to go.

I couldn't actually see the house from where I was but would, every so often, see the fire break out again before a main jet hit it back again.

The Turntable Ladder (TL) and its support pump were en route from Ipswich but height was needed prior to their arrival to effectively tackle the flames. So two 135 ladders were deployed and firefighters using Working at Height equipment got to work to subdue the fire.

In due course the TL arrived and we supplied it via the Yarmouth pump as it made light work of attacking the remaining areas that were still on fire.

And me… Well as driver and pump operator you sometimes have a lonely existence, standing at the back of the pump keeping water flowing and no one to talk too. But when you're right outside the pub and it's heaving as festivities get underway you tend to have a few people want to chat with you!

A tray of coffees appeared from the pub and were set down on the base of the village sign. Close to me but not close enough. When word spread that hot drinks were available they soon disappeared and I didn't get a sniff. Irritable – you bet!

Now would be a good time to say a big, big thank you to The Village Maid for feeding us and providing copious amounts of hot drinks. Sandwiches, baguettes and chips – a veritable feast – and thankfully received by the firefighters who had, by now, been tackling the blaze and salvaging contents of the house for the best part of four hours…

One relief crew was left at the incident throughout the night, checking for hotspots.

Time to head home and back to bed…